Thursday, 28 November 2013

Yesterday, 27th November 2013, would have been Verity Lambert's 78th Birthday.

Verity was born in Hampstead, London in 1935. She is best known of course for producing the longest running science fiction and worldwide phenomenon that is Doctor Who from 1963 to 1967.

Verity owned her own production company, Cinema Verity. She was awarded an OBE in 2002 for services to film and television, making her the first producer of Doctor Who
to be made an OBE. She was due to receive a lifetime achievement award
at the Women in Film and Television Awards in December 2007, but died
before the award could be presented to her. It was awarded posthumously. She died the day before the show's 44th anniversary in 2007.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Jessica Raine (Call The Midwives and Doctor Who episode Hide) played Verity Lambert in Mark Gatiss' An Adventure In Space And Time, which told the story of the creation of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who has paid tribute to Verity Lambert at least three times since it's Russell T Davies brought the show back in 2005. In 2007's episode Human Nature, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), when he was made human by the chameleon arch, and became John Smith, identifies his mother by the name Verity. The 2007 Christmas special Voyage of the Damned ends with an on-screen dedication to Lambert, who had died in November that year. In the 2009 episode The End of Time included a character named Verity Newman (as an homage to both Verity Lambert and series creator Sydney Newman), the great-granddaughter of Joan Redfern from Human Nature and the author of A Journal of Impossible Things.

Happy 26th Birthday to former Doctor Who companion Karen Sheila Gillan who is 26 years old today!

Karen is best known for playing Amy (Amelia) Pond/Williams alongside outgoing Doctor Matt Smith from 2010 until 2012. Her cousin Caitlin Blackwood portrayed young Amelia on first meeting the Doctor.

Karen Sheila Gillan was born on 28th November in 1987. Born and raised
in Inverness, to parents Raymond John and Marie, Karen stayed here until
the age of 16, when she left home to go to Edinburgh to study acting. Whilst in Edinburgh, Karen attended the Telford College to study acting,
and later moved to London to the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of
Theatre Arts. However, before achieving her degree, Karen left to star
in Rebus – she needed to be a member of Equity, which isn’t possible
whilst in College.

Karen got her first career break in modelling, and has modelled in a
number of shows including 2007′s London Fashion Week for designer
Allegra Hicks’ autumn/winter catwalk show. Karen has also modelled for
the Dainty Doll make-up range launch party, which was founded by Girls
Aloud member Nicola Roberts – this was shown in the television episode
The Passions of Girls Aloud, and originally aired on 4th April 2008.

In 2009 it was announced that Karen would be the new companion to the
newly announced Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, for Series 5 of Doctor
Who. Her character was to be called Amy Pond. The first episode of
this new series aired in April 2010, to a mostly positive response both
for Matt and Karen. However, some fans were unhappy with the new
direction, particularly Amy Pond’s wardrobe choices which were deemed a
little risqué for family viewing. But, as Karen pointed out several
times in interviews, Amy’s choices only mirrored what girls of her age
were actually wearing on the streets of the UK.

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Current companion to out-going Doctor Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman will be starring in the P.D. James adapatation period drama DeathComes To Pemberley which will be aired at Christmas on BBC One. Jenna stars alonside Matthew Goode, Matthew Rhys and Anna
Maxwell-Martin.

The story is a continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and
stars Matthew Rhys as Mr Darcy, who says he will be portraying a very
different character to that portrayed by Colin Firth.

Although far removed
from the original tome, international bestseller Death Comes To
Pemberley imagines the marriage of Elizabeth Bennett - played by Anna
Maxwell Martin - and Darcy (Rhys) six years on from their initial union.

Jenna Coleman is to star as Lizzie’s sister – and Wickham’s wife – Lydia, who
arrives at Pemberley one night, six years after the conclusion of
Austen’s novel, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

The three-part BBC
adaptation of the novel will air over the Christmas period, and was
timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane
Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice.

The BBC have now revealed the title and details for the Doctor Who 2013
Christmas special. The episode, which is Matt Smith's final as The Doctor, will indeed be entitledThe Time of the Doctorand will air on Christmas Day on BBC One, time to be confirmed.

I have to say, it is not as very imaginative title now is it. I'd have put money on it being The Fall Of The Eleventh, which is a far better title.

Synopsis:

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s
deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out
to the stars. And amongst them – the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a
family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn
what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the
universe.

Monday, 25 November 2013

Doctor Who will face the end of a 50 year story in the Christmas special - when Time Lord Matt Smith reveals he is actually the 13th and 'final' Doctor.

Actor Matt, 31,
has long thought to have been the Eleventh Doctor on the hit BBC sci-fi
show, which can only regenerate 12 times according to the show's
folklore. Fans have worried for years that the show will have to end
once the 13th Doctor dies.

But on December 25, current theories
among millions of fans will be exterminated once and for all when Matt
says in a dramatic speech he is the 13th Doctor and adds: "I'm dying and
there is nothing I can do about it."

On Saturday night at the end of the show's 50th anniversary special,
all the Doctors lined up, including John Hurt who was previously not
thought to count. David Tennant's Time Lord also used up an extra
regeneration to save himself in an episode called Journey's End.

Asked about the Christmas episode and the regeneration of Doctor Who, Steven
Moffat confirmed Matt was the 13th Doctor and told the Mirror: "The 12
regenerations limit is a central part of Doctor Who mythology - science
fiction is all about rules, you can't just casually break them.

Speaking at the Doctor Who 50th Celebration at London's
ExCel, the showrunner said that John Hurt's version of the Time Lord
does not alter the numbering of other incarnations:

"He
has no more ever called himself the 11th Doctor than he would call
himself Matt Smith. The Doctor doesn't know off the top of his head
[what number he is].

"If you worry about such
things, and I do, then I specifically said John Hurt's Doctor doesn't
use the title. [Matt Smith's Doctor] is in his 12th body but he's the
11th Doctor, however there is no such character as the 11th Doctor -
he's just The Doctor, that's what he calls himself.

"The
numbering doesn't matter, except for those lists that you and I have
been making for many years. So I've given you the option of not counting
John Hurt numerically - he's the War Doctor."

"So if the Doctor can never change again, what's Peter Capaldi doing in the Christmas special?"

A
show source explained: "There have been two David Tennant Doctor Whos
technically and with John Hurt playing another Doctor in the film, it
basically means he can't regenerate again.The riddle of the
regeneration problem, something fans have talked about for decades, will
be faced head on at Christmas. There is going to be another huge
cliffhanger and somehow Peter Capaldi has to join and the series has to
continue. The show's big fans, known as Whovians, won't believe their eyes at Christmas."

This year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, is apparently called The Time Of The Doctor. The episode will be the swan song of current Doctor Matt Smith, as he regenerates into Peter Capaldi.

Bleeding Cool have seen what is to be the outline of the
special, and as we all know, there are spoilers and there are spoilers. Take the following with a pinch of salt…

A bell tolls across the Universe. Many are afraid, The Doctor and Clara are… curious.

You will come to Christmas Town, a place of peace, welcomed by Rob Jarvis and Tessa Peake-Jones.
You will come to Trenzalore, a planet of war.
You will find out where Gallifrey went.
You will discover what the Silence are.
You will see who the voice in the TARDIS was.
The episode will be nine hundred years long.

There will be Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels. Some of them will be wooden. So will The Doctor.
He always has Handles. And grab hold, as you will find out what the hell that crack in space and time actually was. Because The Time Of The Doctor will be going right back to The Eleventh Hour.

The 'Other Doctor' is the Doctor's dark chapter, an _hitherto unknown
incarnation whose existence he has spent centuries repressing, a secret
he wants no one to know of. He is a relic of the past, part of the great
Time War, when he spent centuries fighting alongside his fellow Time
Lords against the Daleks and made the final decision to end it with a
desperate act that cost that incarnation the right to use the name
"Doctor". This haunted and battle-worn Other Doctor is finally forgiven
after helping find a new solution to end the war, giving the Eleventh
Doctor a new purpose as he heads into further adventures.

The Other Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver, as seen in the 50th anniversary
episode: "The Day of the Doctor". Includes sound and light FX.

Peter Capaldi will make his début as the Twelfth Doctor in this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, and begins filming the new series from January. Series 35 (8) will air in autumn 2014.

Doctor Whowriter Steven Moffat has revealed that Peter Capaldi "leaps around the place" following his regeneration scene.

The show's 50th anniversary special, 'The Day of the Doctor' aired at
the weekend and saw Capaldi briefly appear as the Twelfth Doctor for
the first time, but the actor will make his official début in this year's Christmas special.

Moffat told journalists at the Official Doctor Who Celebration in London yesterday:
"We've only seen the tiniest moment. It's just the beginning of a
process really. Of course, he's brilliant. And just seeing the energy
and vitality that he brings to his performance, he works - he's like
Matt [Smith] - he works, he's a worker. And he's an extraordinary vital
performer."

He added: "The man is not at all elderly in style, he leaps around
the place probably more than any other Doctor in that first scene. But
that's not how he's gonna play it, he's in a state of post-regeneration
madness. It's something we're still working on."

Neve McIntosh will be returning as Madame Vastra and had this to say
"It will be sad not to be working with Matt again but I’m
really looking forward to Peter taking over and seeing what he
does with it. [Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax will] be helping the
Doctor more, but I can’t say anything else."

Alex Kingston will reprise her role as River Song : "I look forward to sharing more of River with you in the future, but… spoilers!"

More than 10 million
people tuned in to see the special 50th anniversary episode of Doctor
Who in the UK, according to overnight viewing figures.

At its peak, the show was watched by 10.61 million viewers, with an average of 10.2 million across the 75-minute running time.

It comfortably beat X Factor on ITV, which was seen by 7.7 million people.

But Strictly Come Dancing was Saturday night's most popular show, peaking at 11.7 million viewers (10.6m average).

'Beautiful reinvention'

The Day of the Doctor was broadcast in 94 countries at the
same time as it aired on BBC One on Saturday night - earning it a
Guinness World Record as "the world's largest ever simulcast of a TV
drama".

Featuring three Doctors - Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt - it delved deep into the character's psyche over 75 minutes.

Amid the special effects and multiple time zones, critics were particularly impressed with the interplay between the actors.

Speaking immediately after the broadcast, star Matt Smith said: "I think
what's really clever about it is that what he [Moffat] has managed to
do is change the mythology of the character - which, after 50 years, is
an achievement."

Paul McGann has stated that he would definately do more Doctor Who in the future should the opportunity arise to do so.

"Well, it's like with the mini-episode - if they send you the script and it's good, you'll do it," McGann told Doctor Who Online, "So, you know, these things are only as good as the material. So the
real question is if the material was good enough and if you were
available, you'd do it - cos it's a Who!"

McGann continued to describe the lengths he went to in order to keep his involvement in the minisode and prequel to the fiftieth special 'The Night of The Doctor' a secret. "That was tough, keeping it a secret," he declared. It wasn't easy. I mean a couple of mates knew - family knew, and I'm pretty good at keeping a secret.

"But of course so many people work on something, you know, technicians
and everybody else, and publicity people, you know, I'm not pointing the
finger, except I'm saying, somewhere along the line, someone couldn't
resist pressing send. "A couple of days ago we were seeing still pictures from the episode
going out before it had gone out [officially], so Steven Moffat
presumably thought 'I've gotta do something', so we released it."

‎Doctor Who‬ has received a Guinness World Record for the largest ever simulcast of a TV drama for 'The Day of the Doctor' last night!

The award was presented by to Steven ahead of his first panel
appearance today at the Doctor Who Celebration, a special three-day
event spanning the anniversary weekend at London’s ExCeL. Cast members
Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman were also in attendance along with
thousands of fans from across the world.

On receiving the award,
Steven Moffat says: “For years the Doctor has been stopping everyone
else from conquering the world. Now, just to show off, he's gone and
done it himself!”

Tim Davie, from BBC Worldwide, said: "We knew we were attempting
something unprecedented in broadcast history, not only because Doctor
Who is a drama, unlike a live feed event such as a World Cup football
match or a royal wedding, but because we had to deliver the episode in
advance to the four corners of the world so that it could be dubbed and
subtitled into 15 different languages. If there was any doubt that Doctor Who is one of the world's biggest TV shows, this award should put that argument to rest".

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

This evening at 7pm on BBC One's magazine programme The One Show, celebrated 50 years of Doctor Who with an hour long
special with guests Jenna Coleman (Clara), John Hurt (The War Doctor), with Giles Brandwith interviewing
current showrunner Steven Moffat about the fiftieth episode The Day of the Doctor.

Dalek creator Terry Nation has had a blue plaque unveiled in his honour at the house in Cardiff where he was born.

Nation, who died in 1997 aged 66, was a screenwriter on
Doctor Who when he came up with the ideas for the aliens who are almost
as famous as the Time Lord himself.

The unveiling took place during the week of the 50th anniversary of the BBC sci-fi series.

The Daleks made their first appearance in December 1963.

Nation was born in the suburb of Llandaff, close to Cardiff's
cathedral, and near to the childhood home of fellow writer Roald Dahl.

The plaque was arranged by the Llandaff Society whose
chairman Geoffrey Barton-Greenwood once met Nation when the writer, who
had by this time moved to Hollywood, was visiting friends in the Cardiff
area.

He said: "I knew immediately who he was. I had been watching
the Doctor Who series from the very beginning. I didn't at that stage
know that he was a Llandaff boy."

"There are stories of neighbours seeing him, as a boy, sitting on the back step jotting down story ideas in his notebook”

Geoffrey Barton-GreenwoodLlandaff Society

"He was obviously a very impressive character. He had stature and gravitas."

Four years ago, the society unveiled a blue plaque just yards away in memory of another local writer, Roald Dahl.

'Play on words'

Mr Barton-Greenwood believes there may be a connection between
the name of the famous writer and the name Nation gave to his armoured
mutant creations.

He said: "There is a connection in that they are 'Daleks' and Roald 'Dahl' was only from around the corner.
"I think Terry Nation might well have been having a play on words.
"It would be an extreme coincidence that these guys came from
such a short distance apart and yet came up with this sort of
affinity."

In a matter of 5 weeks, on Christmas Day, we will bid a sad farewell to the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith and welcome in the Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi. Clara Oswald played by Jenna Coleman, will be there to witness the regeneration of the Doctor.

Jenna: "I knew it was going to be sad, but it was really traumatic. It was very emotiomal and overwhelming. It's a stranger thing but, it's the nature of the show. Matt leaves and Peter arrives in his costume, and the scen carries on. You just keep going - that's the show"

The second mini episode for the 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, is now online. Unlike the first one though this is currently only available through iTunes. For some reason, it costs £2.49 in the UK, whereas it is free on the American iTunes store. The video was reportedly priced in error, and is now available as part of a series pass. A spokesperson for the BBC told the Radio Times: “This is an error on the part of iTunes. This should have been
free. We’re waiting to hear back from them about how this will be
rectified.”

Synopsis:

First day on the front line? Time to attach a Headcam for a soldier’s point-of-view. What could possibly go wrong?

Friday, 15 November 2013

Steven Moffat has spoken to the BBC about bringing back the eighth Doctor, Paul McGann for today’s amazing mini-episode.

Question: How did The Night of the Doctor come about?

Steven Moffat: Well, we had our new ‘hidden mystery’ Doctor
and I was thinking, what else can we do for our anniversary year… I
thought… Why don’t we get Paul McGann in and regenerate him into John
Hurt? I’d like to see that! I’d love to see that! And we had
this possibility that we could do it as a surprise, so we got in touch
with Paul who was dead keen and I’m delighted to say he was so happy to
join in with the idea of keeping it secret. He was childishly excited
about it!

Paul came along and shot it – it was the last two days of the shoot
for the fiftieth, actually. He did a wonderful job. It was great! We
designed a new costume for him based on his old one. Howard Burden did a
fantastic job with that.

Q: It was a well-kept
secret! How important was that for you, and what measures did you go to,
to ensure this regeneration was kept under wraps?

SM: We were phenomenally secret with the making of it! And
I’m sure some people are a bit cross that we were so secretive but the
fact is, there is only one way to ensure you keep a secret, and that’s
to keep it! So, we kept it very tight and we hope it all came as great
surprise to everyone.

Q: For those that don’t know him, could you describe the Eighth Doctor?

SM: The Eighth Doctor is perhaps the first of the sexy,
romantic Doctors. I don’t mean he’s the first sexy Doctor – he’s not.
But he’s the first one who kisses a lady, for example. He’s obviously
dashing, terribly handsome and quite romantic. I always found it hard to
imagine him fighting in the Time War. I’d always imagined the ‘Time War
Doctor’ would be more grizzled, somehow, you know?

Paul only played the Doctor onscreen once before, in the TV Movie. He
gives a wonderful performance in it. It’s a terrifically exuberant
performance and it anticipates the later performances, particularly of
Matt and David. He’s a dashing, romantic, very funny and very affecting
Doctor! Of course, Paul is not only known for the telemovie but for all
his wonderful audio adventures. I’m always telling the Doctors and
companions, as they come through the show, that they’ll never be quite
done with it – Big Finish is expecting them.

Q: It’s
an interesting spin on the Time War – the Time Lords becoming this hated
race, as bad as the Daleks in some people’s eyes. Will we see that play
out with John Hurt’s Doctor and so on?

SM: We will see some of that play out. We’ve already seen
some of it play out on the show, in The End of Time, where the Doctor
reveals the Time Lords got as bad as the Daleks towards the end, and he
was as worried by them as anything else. And we know the Doctor wiped
out his own people. He wouldn’t do so unless things had got pretty bad. Genocide is a big decision for anyone!

Q: People seemed delighted when they heard the Sisterhood of Karn was returning. Did that surprise you?SM: A
little bit! I was terribly excited about having the Sisterhood of Karn
coming back which is why I did it! But I should probably learn to have a
little more faith in the fact that what gets me excited as a sad, old
fan will get other people excited as well! And okay, the Sisterhood are
unknown to the kids, but I was a kid when I first saw the Sisterhood and
I thought they were great! So I’m hoping other people will like them!

Q: And the character the Doctor encounters in the mini episode… Is that supposed to be Ohica, from The Brain of Morbius?SM: No! If you look at the credits you’ll see I called her
Ohila so it suggests she’s in some way connected to Ohica. Instead of
having that confusion in having it the same person, I thought we’d just
imply they were connected.

Q: Finally, running a show
like Doctor Who is always going to be hard work… But how much fun was
it? Bringing back the Eighth Doctor?SM: Oh, it was a complete treat! It was always frustrating
that we never got to see more of him! The completist in me… the ‘box set
man’ in me wants every box ticked and I wanted every regeneration
scene! And we get to see the Paul McGann Doctor regenerate into the
John Hurt Doctor! I love regeneration episodes – there’s nothing more
exciting! And in the anniversary year we get to see two regenerations…
That’s pretty cool!

Thursday, 14 November 2013

After all the speculation as to whether Paul McGann would be seen again as the Eighth incarnation of the Doctor, can finally be put to rest. In the Steven Moffat penned minisode The Night Of the Doctor , a prequel to the fiftieth episode The Day Of The Doctor, sees his return to playing the Doctor on screen, even if it is via the BBC red button service.

The changing image of the Eighth Doctor from left to right: The TV Movie, Dark Eyes and Night Of The Doctor. Belowscreencaps taken from the minisode and promo image.

14th November - the return of Paul McGann as the Doctor and also his 54th birthday. Many happy returns!

Doctor Whoshowrunner Steven Moffat has described writing
the upcoming 50th anniversary special as "The most terrifying thing I’ve
ever done".

Speaking to CultBox on the set of 'The Day
of the Doctor' in Cardiff earlier this year, the writer commented: "I
knew the story we wanted tell and certain things in the kit of parts
that we could tell it with. That has to be the priority, otherwise you
might as well just have a walk-down, a curtain call… It can’t all be
curtain call. Not that I’m saying we don’t have a curtain call!"

Moffat added: "It was a very, very, very difficult script to start
writing, because it had to be epically ambitious. I’ve never written
anything quite like it. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever
done."

The writer explained: "I knew what I wanted to accomplish. I think
there’s a tremendous danger if you attach the word 50 to anything that
you are arranging a state funeral and a retrospective. I wanted it to be
the show that ensures the next 50 years – it does celebrate the last 50
years, trust me, people seem to worry that I‘m not going to do that. It
celebrates the legend, rather than saying ‘it’s really old, you know’."

He joked: "You don’t want to say that to kids, do you? ‘This is
something your grandparents watched!’ You want it to be an absolute
forward thrust."

'The Day of the Doctor' will air at 7.50pm on Saturday 23 November on BBC One.

Monday, 11 November 2013

In an interview with the Guardian, Jenna Coleman has described Matt Smith’s regeneration as "perfect" in his final episode this Christmas:

“I was an absolute mess, an absolute wreck. But it’s good; it’s sad, but it’s what needs to happen. It’s perfect.”

Coleman admitted she held back from reading the script as long as
possible:

"I just read the script the other night," says Coleman. "I'd been
putting it off for ages and ages, because once you read the last page,
that's it, the story is over. So I read 10 pages on the tube and I
stopped, and then I picked it up again the other day and finished it. I
was an absolute mess, an absolute wreck. But it's good; it's sad, but
it's what needs to happen. It's perfect."

On the casting of Peter Capaldi to replace Matt Smith:

“They told me and Matt
when Prince Charles and Camilla came to the set. We were both: ‘Ahhh, of
course.’ It takes you a few moments – I don’t think he was on any of
the original lists. People were talking about Rory Kinnear and people
like that, but as soon as you say it, you’re like: ‘Of course.’ As
Steven Moffat said: ‘He’s the Doctor.’ And it’s brilliant that we’ve
gone so different from Matt.”

The BBC will be showing an exclusive clip from the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special The Day Of The Doctor during the Children In Need telethon on Friday 15th November.According to theRadio Times, the clip will be shown during the first section of the programme between 7.30 - 8.00pm :Children In Need 2013 7.30pm BBC One

Terry Wogan and Tess Daly present another bumper evening of
fundraising fun, which sees a massive line-up of stars singing, dancing or
acting plain daft in support of disadvantaged children across the UK. The fun
kicks off with the cast of West End smash Matilda singing a medley of songs
from the show, boy band JLS performing some of their greatest hits in Albert
Square and a treat for Doctor Who fans with an exclusive clip from the
long-awaited 50th anniversary episode, which is being shown in just over a
week, on Saturday, November 23.

Sunday, 10 November 2013

The BBC is being challenged over the ownership of the copyright of the
TARDIS, by the son of the author of the first Doctor Who story, Anthony Coburn.

Stef Coburn is claiming that his father created the TARDIS, seen in the very first episode of Doctor Who, An Unearthly Child,
shown on 23 November 1963. He claims that he remembers his father
getting the inspiration for the TARDIS during a walk on Wimbledon
common. He believes the BBC is failing to give his father "the public
recognition that should by rights always have been his due" for
inventing the Tardis.

Anthony Coburn was a staff writer for the BBC when he was commissioned
to produce scripts for the proposed new science fiction series. He
inherited a concept for the show which had been produced by script
writer Cecil Edwin Webber in which much of the structure of the
programme had already been defined. In the original document the
spaceship is described as something "humdrum, say, .... such as a night-watchman's shelter"

Stef Coburn's case is that any informal permission his father gave the
BBC to use his work expired with his death in 1977 and the copyright of
all of his ideas passed to his widow, Joan. Earlier this year she passed
it on to him.
He told the Independent

It is by no means my wish to deprive legions of Doctor Who fans (of whom
I was never one) of any aspect of their favourite children's programme.
The only ends I wish to accomplish, by whatever lawful means present
themselves, involve bringing about the public recognition that should by
rights always have been his due, of my father James Anthony Coburn's
seminal contribution to Doctor Who, and proper lawful recompense to his
surviving estate.

Coburn had demanded that the corporation either stop using the TARDIS in
Doctor Who, or pay his family for its every use since his father's
death. The BBC says it is looking into the complaint. A repeat run of a
restored version of the very first story, An Unearthly Child, was announced in September, but then removed from schedules 'pending the resolution of issues'. The BBC have yet to confirm these issues have been resolved.

This is not the first time the BBC has been involved in litigation
over the TARDIS. In 1998 the London Metropolitan Police argued it
should own the trade mark of blue box, objecting to the BBC using the
image of the TARDIS on comics, T-shirts, videos and other merchandise.
The Police force lost the case, following appeal, in 2002, and was
ordered to pay £850 plus legal costs to the BBC.

Saturday, 9 November 2013

BBC Three's twitter has confirmed that it will air a new edition of Doctor Who Live on Saturday, November 23.The special - expected to follow a similar format to August's episode, which unveiled Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor - will air at 9.05pm. Details on the 'after-party' - including which stars will appear - are yet to be confirmed.

The Day of the Doctor premieres on BBC One a fortnight
tomorrow, at 7.50pm on Saturday, 23 November. Just after Strictly Come Dancing, BBC One aired the first of two trailers being premièred over the weekend. Watch them both below

oday's edition of UK publication The Telegraph included a pull-out magazine with a feature on The Day of the Doctor
and behind-the-scenes photographs. Included in the pics are: David
Tennant, Matt Smith, John Hurt, Billie Piper, Jenna Coleman, Steven
Moffat and director Nick Hurran. Also included here are some quotes from the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special and from the article.

From The Day of the Doctor:

"You were The Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right."

The Eleventh Doctor

"What we do today, we do not out of fear or hatred,

but because there is no other way."

The Tenth Doctor

"What's really interesting is that Steven has managed to invent
something new about the character, which is wonderful after fifty
years." Matt Smith

"He's [John Hurt] from The Doctor's past, and The Doctor did not expect
to see him again. We pick up, as it were, months later [After the events
of The Name of the Doctor]. So you'll get an update on what Clara's been up to, a little bit about what The Doctor's been up to." Steven Moffat

"Very, very roughly, I suppose, and with apologies to Charles
Dickens, it's the A Christmas Carol structure - there's the ghost of the
past, the present and the future. There's plenty of inter-Doctor
rivalry and, as The Doctor's 50th birthday present, we're establishing a
whole new Doctor right there in front of you." Steven Moffat.

Sunday, 3 November 2013

The British Board of Film Classification have announced today that a minisode has been made for The Day of the Doctor, entitled The Night of the Doctor.
The BBFC passed the material for release in the UK. The minisode has a
running length of six minutes and fifty-four seconds, and stars David
Tennant and Matt Smith. No more information has been included for the
sketch so far.

Earlier last month, the BBC also passed a piece of additional material for the anniversary special called The Last Day.
It is currently unknown whether either of these releases will be
released on the BBC Doctor Who website, the cinema release for The Day
of the Doctor, or the DVD release for the special.